Regulating broker fees for rentals in the city is being considered by the Somerville City Council.

By Harry Kane

The demand for legislation to regulate broker’s fees on a statewide level was reintroduced by Somerville City Councilors at the latest meeting on November 26 in the hope of reducing the overhead for renters in Somerville.

City Councilors are joining forces with Cambridge and Boston to try to enact a state law similar to what recently passed in New York, which would ban broker’s fees that landlords pass on to tenants when signing an initial lease.

“One of the things that makes it so hard to both move into Somerville, and move around Somerville, are the exorbitant costs of moving, including broker’s fees,” said City Councilor At-Large Willie Burnley Jr.

According to Apartments.com, the average rent in Somerville is $3,154 per month for a 676 square-foot, 1-bedroom apartment. The median rent in Somerville is $3,300, according to Zillow Rentals.

“For a lot of residents in this city, even when they don’t use a broker, and their landlord does, the costs of these fees get put onto them,” Councilor Burnley Jr. explained.

The Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act in New York, that was recently passed on Nov. 13, requires landlords to pay broker fees, instead of the tenants.

Massachusetts is considering a similar bill that would shift the responsibility from tenants to landlords when it comes to paying broker’s commissions. The new legislation would ease the upfront costs renters face when moving into a new apartment.

Councilor Burnley Jr. says moving into a new apartment could mean laying out as much as four month’s rent, all at once, including the deposit, first and last month’s rent, and a broker’s fee, which may be equivalent to a month’s rent.

“This is a huge barrier to entry that is just uncontainable for the average person to pay,” he said.

Councilor Burnley Jr. says he has heard from many constituents who have experienced financial hardships and are finding it difficult to cover the costs of broker fees. For example, he mentioned one renter had been asked to pay $9,000 just to move into an apartment, and another renter’s entire savings was spent during a move.

“Somerville cannot lag behind,” Councilor Burnley Jr. said.

He said that even if renters did have to absorb the broker’s fees, paying the fees over the course of an entire lease of 12 months would be a lot easier than having to pay the fee upfront.

“This is an opportunity for Somerville to join our partners in Boston and Cambridge, to move as a regional unit,” Councilor Burnley Jr. said.

Some opponents of the legislation say that landlords may raise rents and pass the costs onto tenants if the broker’s fees aren’t paid by renters.

But Councilor Burnley Jr. said that kind of rhetoric is just a scare tactic.

“Given the fact that Somerville is mostly renters, this is a landmark piece of legislation that is going to make a huge impact on the community,” said City Councilor At-Large Wilfred N. Mbah.

City Councilor President Ben Ewen-Campen said that he supports moving forward with the regulation, or the limiting of broker’s fees. He mentioned that previous legislation, which included the regulation of these fees had been discussed, but as a specific piece of legislation, regulation of broker’s commissions, needs to be addressed.

“I very much appreciate the decision to move ahead with this as a standalone…I’m completely supportive of it,” Councilor Ewen-Campen said.